Semi-random question which may or may not become relevant to my Narnia Big Bang

Okay, so. Background. My version of Calormen has a nine-deity pantheon: five gods, four goddesses. (Three of them are even mentioned in canon, yay!) The fifth god, Azaroth, is god of death, darkness, and silence. Also deserts. Anyway, the clergy of the other deities are gender-linked; women serve the goddesses, men serve the gods. In big temples, Azaroth only has a priesthood, but in rural areas and smaller city shrines and so on, it's basically equal opportunity. His clergy do funerals, mostly. Also sometimes they're healers if there isn't anyone around who serves Soolyeh or Nur.

There was, actually, a way for Aravis to get out of marrying Ahoshta without killing herself. The catch is that by Calormene lights it might be worse than death. It involves renouncing your name, your family, your possessions, your afterlife -- basically everything. You give all that to Azaroth. In return, you get out of whatever obligations were making your life unbearable, because you are not that person anymore. After your death, Azaroth will recycle your soul. You will be reborn as someone else and maybe do a better job the second time around.

Calormenes do not think reincarnation is a good thing. Not at all. The idea is for your soul to live in the lands of the gods after death, as part of your family. Also, breaking family ties? Very bad. Throwing everything away is more shameful than suicide. At least suicides keep their selves and their blood ties, and can make it to the heavens after a time of torment if they're very determined. Even if twice-born souls make it through life faultlessly on the second try, they will always bear a mark to show they gave up the first time around.

(This is theology, btw. Whether it bears much relation to reality... eh. It's a world created by a talking lion. And Tash, at least, is unquestionably real. Either everyone goes to Aslan's country regardless, or your afterlife -- because Narnian cosmology does canonically have immortal souls, even in Lewis's version of England -- is determined by your own gods. Pick whichever option makes you happier. My opinion on Aslan's attitude toward comparative religions need not determine yours.)

Back to the main subject! Nobody will help people who've sworn away their lives to Azaroth. They are not his clergy. They're just empty.

So they help each other. And since he's the god of death, generally what they do is band together and either do a lot of dirty jobs nobody else wants, or follow armies around as mercenaries, last-resort healers, and burial squads.

I need a name for them.

Nicknames include the walking dead, the living ghosts, the black-robes, the forsworn, the hollow ones, the nameless, etc. But the only official name I am coming up with is the Renunciates, which, well... shades of Darkover. And while there are similarities to the concept, this is not a female-only thing. Sacrificing your entire self to Azaroth is an option of last resort for anyone, and it's a LOT more severe than Bradley's Free Amazons.

If I called them the Renunciates, would that throw anyone out of a story? And does anyone have a better name?

wherein Liz (re-)learns CPR

Thank you to everyone who commented about the still-to-be-named Calormene group! I have decided not to call them Renunciates, but I am still reflecting on the various other suggestions.

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In other news, this morning I attended a three-hour lesson on basic CPR at my church. It was offered first to RE teachers (on the theory that if anything goes wrong in a group of children, you really, really want at least one of the teachers to be trained how to deal with medical emergencies) and there may be another session held in a few weeks on a weekday night. Apparently we are looking into getting an AED (automated external defibrillator) for the church, so we got some training in how to use those as well.

CPR has been simplified from when I first learned it as a pre-teen in swimming lessons. (I had reached the point where my YMCA either had to make me an assistant instructor or put me on the swim team, and since I didn't like competitive swimming, teaching it was. I tend to forget about that, but it seems my interest in volunteer teaching goes WAY back.) Anyway, back then there was a lot about tilting heads and checking pulses and clearing airways, which was always rather complicated and intimidating and apparently put a lot of people off trying to give CPR at all. The medical establishment noticed that. Also, studies have apparently shown that the single most important part of CPR is the chest compressions; all the rest is ancillary.

( wherein Liz attempts to explain basic CPR in two paragraphs )

You don't have to be perfect, because any help is better than no help. If a person's heart is stopped, they're going to die. Nothing you can do will make them worse. So why not try to make them better?